The Longest Day

The Longest Day

The Longest Day

NR

2h 59m

1962

87%

age 12+

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Featuring a celebrated international cast, including Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda and Robert Mitchum, The Longest Day is a vivid, hour-by-hour re-creation of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, France – told from the perspectives of both sides. With an astonishing armada and enormous courage, the “D-Day” invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination.

Common Sense Media

age 12+

Common Sense Says

Authentic 3-hour WWII D-Day drama; no graphic violence.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Longest Day, a black-and-white docu-drama released in 1962, is a predominantly accurate depiction of D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Allied troops invaded German-occupied Europe via the western coast of France. The film, which takes place over one 24-hour period, uses three distinct points of view -- American, English, and German (with subtitles) -- to tell the story. The first two hours reveal the preparations and initial skirmishes that set up the final hour -- a depiction of the massive air and sea battles that launched the Allies' assault on Omaha Beach in Normandy. Combat is almost continuous. Men are gunned down; lifeless bodies are seen on the beach; some dead hang from trees. Despite that, both graphic violence and brutality are kept to a minimum; the camera does not dwell on the human destruction. An effort is made to show German officers in a balanced way, though some are buffoonish and wrongheaded to the extreme. A momentous achievement when it was released (filmmakers didn't have special effects and computers to rely on), the film retains the historical and emotional impact that was intended. Some smoking, drinking, and a few "hells" and "damns" are heard.